Should Asian NZers be prioritised for Covid vaccinations?

Joel Maxwell writes in Stuff:

Do Māori need a specific plan for vaccination roll-out? …

 I think that there needs to be a specific plan for rolling out vaccination into Māori communities.

Like the bogeyman of council Māori wards, which is being eased by urgent legislation under this Government, there are times when specific action for Māori is needed.

So what is the Government doing?

Initially, Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins told media, when questioned about a specific plan for Māori, that the vaccine roll-out would be based on risk.

“And Māori are disproportionately represented in those [at risk] groups, who will receive the vaccine early.”

If we look at the infection stats for Covid-19, then Asian NZers should be the priority, not Maori.

Here’s the infection and population stats for Covid-19.

• Europeans – 60.6% of cases, 71.7% of population
• Asian – 19.6% of cases, 15.1% of population
• Maori – 8.4% of cases, 16.5% of population
• Pacific – 8.1% of cases, 8.1% of population

So the ratio of cases to population is:

1. Asian 130%
2. Pacific 100%
3. Europeans 85%
4. Maori 51%

So in fact Maori are the least likely ethnic group to be infected.

But I suspect facts and data will be meaningless when it comes to virtue signalling.